BGuthrie Photos: PA -- Gettysburg -- Town -- David Wills House

PA -- Gettysburg -- Town -- David Wills House:

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[1] WILLS_090604_016.JPG	[2] WILLS_090604_018.JPG	[3] WILLS_090604_028.JPG
[4] WILLS_090604_047.JPG	[5] WILLS_090604_063.JPG	[6] WILLS_090604_073.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. WILLS_090604_063.JPG: "Please aid Mr. Hazenmiller in any way you can in finding the remains." -- Governor Andrew Curtin to David Wills, October 7, 1863
2. WILLS_090604_186.JPG: Lincoln's bedroom
3. WILLS_090604_217.JPG: Wool Saddle Cover, c. 1860 Abraham Lincoln used this saddle cover during the processional to the Soldiers' National Cemetery dedication on November 19, 1863. Charles W. Griest of York Springs, Pennsylvania provided it to the President on the morning of November 19th.
4. WILLS_090607_070.JPG: Tintype, Private Wilson D. Race, Co. A, 149th Pennsylvania Infantry, 1863. A member of the Union First Corps, Race was wounded in the lungs and carried to the field hospital in the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. He died there on July 24.
5. WILLS_090607_106.JPG: "The Soldier's Hymm-Book with Tunes", published by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association, c. 1863. This pocket hymnal belonged to Sergeant Francis J. Swoyer of Co. C, 107th Pennsylvania Infantry. Swoyer's regiment served in the same brigade as the 104th New York Infantry and also took part in the first day's battle north of Gettysburg. He also withdrew through the town at the close of the first day's action.
6. WILLS_090607_111.JPG: Model 1839 US Oval Waist Belt Plate, 1862. Found along Oak Ridge north of Gettysburg after the battle, this belt plate is inscribed "TH, Co. I, 104 NYV". It most likely belonged to Private Thomas Haligan of Company I, 104th New York Infantry. Haligan and his comrades took part in the first day's battle north of Gettysburg and withdrew through the town at the end of that day.
7. WILLS_090607_129.JPG: Confederate Military Pass, July 2, 1863. This slip of paper, torn from the page of a diary, served as a safe conduct pass for David Wills through the Confederate lines during the battle. It is signed by Alexander S. "Sandie" Pendleton, Assistant Adjutant General of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's 2nd Army Corps.
8. WILLS_090607_136.JPG: 1st Corps Badge, Army of the Potomac, 1863. This badge belonged to a member of the 1st Army Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac. Instituted in early 1863, corps badges contributed to "esprit de corps" by giving divisions a distinctive identity. Red denotes a member of the Corps' First Division. These soldiers fought through town during the Union withdrawal to Cemetery Hill on July 1.
9. WILLS_090607_256.JPG: Certificate for war damages for DC Brickerhoff. Wills assisted Gettysburg residents in filing claims for battle damage.
10. WILLS_090607_313.JPG: "Report of the Select Committee relative to the Soldiers' National Cemetery" First published in 1864, this report included key correspondence on the creation of the cemetery, efforts at removal of the dead from the battlefield, and lists of articles found on the bodies of dead soldiers that could be identified or reclaimed by relatives. David Wills authored several sections of this report and would continue to issue updates to it as the years passed.
11. WILLS_090607_337.JPG: Letter, Governor Andrew Curtin to David Wills, October 4, 1863: In this letter, Governor Curtin requests that Wills help a gentleman attempting to locate the remains of a soldier from the 1st Minnesota Infantry.
12. WILLS_090607_346.JPG: Letter, AG Feather to David Wills, November 20, 1863: In this letter, Captain AG Feather of the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry requests that Wills recommend him to Governor Curtin for a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.
13. WILLS_090607_357.JPG: Letter, Edward Everett to David Wills, October 2, 1863: When making arrangements for the Cemetery dedication, Wills invited Edward Everett to give the dedicatory speech. Everett responded in this letter that he could do so no earlier than November 19th. Wills honored that request and scheduled the dedication for that day.
14. WILLS_090607_368.JPG: Commission from the Governor of Pennsylvania to David Wills, 1863: With this commission document, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin designated David Wills as his official agent to facilitate the creation the National Cemetery.
15. WILLS_090607_381.JPG: Broadside, October 15, 1863: As Governor Curtin's agent, David Wills published this broadside requesting proposals for the removal of Union dead from the battlefield to the new Soldier's National Cemetery.
16. WILLS_090607_387.JPG: Letter, Edward Everett to David Wills, December 15, 1863: In 1864, Little, Brown, and Company published an edition of Everett's November 19th oration. Wills provided Everett with "manuscript materials," most likely for the book's introduction.
17. WILLS_090607_423.JPG: Wool Saddle Cover, c. 1860 Abraham Lincoln used this saddle cover during the processional to the Soldiers' National Cemetery dedication on November 19, 1863. Charles W. Griest of York Springs, Pennsylvania provided it to the President on the morning of November 19th.
18. WILLS_090607_449.JPG: Of the various written versions of the Gettysburg Address, the Bliss copy is considered the most faithful to Lincoln's words that day, and is the only one with his signature.
19. WILLS_090607_499.JPG: Carte-de-visite, Private William Adams, Co. F, 108th US Colored Troops (USCT), 1864: Private William Adams was a member of one of the regiments of African-American soldiers raised after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. While he served in the war's western theater, Adams was one of thousands of African-Americans, including some Gettysburg civilians, who answered the Union's call.
20. WILLS_090607_508.JPG: Skeleton Key: This key operated the lock to the room in which Lincoln stayed on his visit to Gettysburg.
21. WILLS_090607_515.JPG: Towel, c. 1860: Embroidered with a "W", this is one of several hand towels owned by the Wills family at the time of Lincoln's visit in 1863.
22. WILLS_090607_532.JPG: Ambrotype, Mary Wills, c. 1860: Pictured here is Mary Wills, the second child of David and Catherine "Jennie" Wills. Born in 1858, she spent the evening before the Dedication with Lincoln and the other Wills guests. She is approximately 2 years old in this photograph.
23. WILLS_090607_586.JPG: Telegram, November 18, 1863: Lincoln received this telegram informing him of his son Tad's improved health on the night of November 18, 1863.
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Wikipedia Description: David Wills (Gettysburg)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Wills was the instigator of the Gettysburg National Cemetery and Lincoln's dedicatory address given there

David Wills (1831 – October 27, 1890) was the principal figure in the establishment of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. As a result of his efforts, the Gettysburg Address was given by Abraham Lincoln. Wills was Lincoln's host while in Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Address was completed in Mr. Wills' home. The house is under renovation and is slated to reopen to the public on February 12-16, 2009.
The House of David Wills in Gettysburg is where Abraham Lincoln put the finishing touches on the Gettysburg Address he had composed in Washington, D.C.

David Wills was born in Menallen Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, the son of James Wills, a farmer. He remained on his father's farm until 13 years of age, entering Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) in 1846 from which he graduated with high honors in 1851. He then became a principal of the Academy at Cahaha, Alabama, where he taught one year. In 1853 he entered as a law student in the office of Hon. Thaddeus Stevens at Lancaster, PA, and in 1854 he was admitted to the Bar of Pennsylvania.

He opened a law office in Gettysburg in 1853. He was elected Burgess of the Borough of Gettysburg. He was elected the first County Superintendent of Schools of Adams County, and on him devolved the organization of the new school system. He was also elected director of the Bank of Gettysburg in 1854 and served until 1860, when he was succeeded by his father, James Wills, who served until 1867. He was trustee of Wilson College, Chambersburg. He was also a trustee of the Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle. He was for more than twenty years a trustee of Pennsylvania College. In 1874 he was appointed President Judge of the 42nd Judicial District composed of Adams and Fulton Counties.

Mr. Wills suggested the idea of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg to Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin immediately after the Battle of Gettysburg. He was appointed the agent of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by Governor Curtin to organize the Soldiers' National Cemetery and looked after its interest. However, rival lawyer David McConaughy had already started purchasing land on Cemetery Hill with the intention of preserving it for the Federal government instead of the commonwealth.

It was in Wills' house on November 18 that President Lincoln wrote the final draft of the Gettysburg Address.
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